Hot topics: Three things generating a buzz in the garage area

Tuesday

Jul 30, 2013 at 5:30 AM

The Class of 2002 does it again, the four horsepower men and Indy oddities.

GODWIN KELLYMOTORSPORTS EDITOR

Class of 2002

Every generation produces a special class of rookies, who grow into champions. The previous top class was 1979 which included Harry Gant, Terry Labonte and Dale Earnhardt. They combined for nine NASCAR Cup Series championships and well over 100 victories.

Enter the Class of 2002, which is following a similar track. Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman entered the cage at the same time and have been toe to toe ever since.

Johnson had three wins his rookie year, while Newman nabbed one and the Rookie of the Year honors. Over the years, Johnson has seen greater success – five championships and 64 wins. Newman has finished Top-10 in points six times and won 17 races.

Which is why winning Sunday's Samuel Deeds 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis was extra special sweet for Newman. Not only did he win on his “home” track – Newman was born and raised in Indiana – but he beat Johnson, who finished second. The margin of victory was basically the time difference in their last pit stops.

“There is definitely disappointment there, but this is racing that stuff happens,” Johnson said. “Ryan was fast all day long. I can't take anything away from him.”

Fundamental four

Jeff Gordon, Jeff Burton, Mark Martin and Bobby Labonte have a special bond that has survived at least one more season. They are the only drivers who have started every Brickyard 400 since its 1994 inception.

Gordon stands out among this elite group with four victories and finished in the Top-10 Sunday at Indianapolis. Labonte won it in 2000 but was 36th Sunday. Martin said his No. 55 Toyota was “ill” all day and finished 23rd. Burton, who was running at the finish, brought up the rear of the field.

Gordon and Burton will return based on their current driving contracts; not so sure about Martin and Labonte.

Indy oddities

Indianapolis is known for intense racing and weird stuff happening around the track. For instance, Jeff Burton's crew chief Luke Lambert monitored Sunday's race from inside the team hauler. Matt McCall, a team engineer, sat on Burton's pit box during the race. The team said Lambert had an eye ailment that made him sensitive to light.

And then there was the garage stall of Jimmie Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet. In somewhat of a first, the stock car could not be seen because it was surrounded by partitions. NASCAR, which has always had an “open garage” policy, allowed the No. 48 to keep the partitions up through the weekend.

Finally, Newman became the second “lame duck” driver to win this season. Newman was pink-slipped by Stewart-Haas Racing -- when the 2013 season ends. Kevin Harvick is the other duck in the pond. He is leaving Richard Childress Racing at the end of '13. Where is going? To take Newman's place on the Stewart-Haas driver roster.